Earliest evidence of Biblical scarlet dye found in Israel desert

The earliest evidence of Biblical scarlet dye was discovered by Israeli archaeologists digging in the Judean Desert, the Israel Antiquities Authority said on Thursday.

Preserving heritage treasures and deterring antiquities theft, excavations in the “Cave of Skulls” northeast of Jerusalem produced the unusual cloth, which is smaller than two centimeters in size and 3,800 years old. The linen warp threads stayed uncolored, but the woolen weft threads were dyed crimson.

The textile was dated to the Middle Bronze Age (1767-1954 BCE) using carbon-14 analysis.

According to a new joint study of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Bar-Ilan University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the textile’s scarlet color was produced from the oak scale insects, which the researchers identify with the Biblical scarlet worm Tola’at Hashani.

Using advanced analytical methods, including High-Performance Liquid Chromatography to identify the dye’s origin, the researchers concluded that the red hue came from the Kermes vermilio species, known for producing kermesic acid, which imparts the distinctive red color.

The findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

“In ancient times, the dye was produced from the female scale insect, which lives on the kermes oak tree (Quercus coccifera),” explained Dr. Na’ama Sukenik, Curator of the Organic Material Collection at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

“Collecting these kermes was done in a very short window of time - one month out of the year, in the summer, after the female laid her eggs but before they hatched– when the amount of dye was greatest. The short period in which the kermes could be collected, the difficulty in finding them due to their small size, between 3-8 mm, and their camouflage colours – that make it difficult to locate them,” Sukenik added.

The amount of dye that could be produced from the eggs was limited, she explained, but “the beautiful scarlet hue that can be produced from them for dyeing textiles made their use highly prestigious.”

The discovery also underscores the interconnectedness of ancient societies. Despite the presence of a native species of a scale insect in Israel capable of producing a red-orange colour, the researchers found that the textile’s dye came from a species common in the central and eastern Mediterranean region, indicating extensive trade networks, the researchers said.

The scarlet-red color, mentioned in the Bible alongside royal blue tekheilet and purple argaman, is considered one of the ancient world’s most precious and expensive dyes, which were used – according to the biblical commandment – to dye the fabrics of the Tabernacle and the priestly garments.